ZooChat Challenge UK 2012

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bigcat speciali said:
Polar Bear and Asiatic's at Glasgow
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Agreed; indeed I saw polar bear and Asiatic black bears several times at Glasgow Zoo myself.

My original list wasn’t intended to be an exhaustive inventory of every species of bear in every UK zoo during the 1980s, but just some examples to illustrate that all species were on display in the UK during that decade.
 
SMR said:
At the risk of annoying teacher by bending the rules:

Giant Panda (Edinburgh - 16/12/2011 and 17/12/2011)
Sun Bear (Edinburgh - 17/12/2011)
Brown Bear (WMZ - 28/12/2011)
Spectacled Bear (Chester - 02/01/2012)

I'm going to get disqualified for three of those, but should win a consolation prize for honesty. :(
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You can have a Teacher's Pet Gold Star Award for your honesty but it won't change the attainment grade on your end of year report:).
 
SMR said:
I know, how annoying of Shorts not to post this last month, especially as I'll be able to add another at the end of next week, and a species only held at one collection to boot!
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Sorry:o, I'll issue next year's challenge on New Year's Eve.

Are you saying if I'd laid down the challenge in early December you would have delayed your Edinburgh trip:D?
 
Javan Rhino said:
I don't know if this is unique or pretty standard across safari parks, but in my opinion the roads at Highland Wildlife Park and Blair Drummond were wide enough for 3-4 lanes of traffic, so that visitors could take their time and even stop without blocking cars behind you, is this the case at Woburn?
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The roads at Woburn are not all that wide, about 2 lanes I would say. The problem is that the bear/wolf reserve is so big and so undulating, with so many trees and other cover, that it's difficult to know where to stop the car in order to wait a while in the hope of seeing a bear (or a wolf, for that matter). And of course as soon as you stop the car, everyone else behind you assumes you've done so because you've spotted animals nearby, so in next to no time you have several cars all parked up behind you, with their occupants wondering why you've stopped and what it is you're looking at.
 
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zooman64 said:
The roads at Woburn are not all that wide, about 2 lanes I would say. The problem is that the bear/wolf reserve is so big and so undulating, with so many trees and over cover, that it's difficult to know where to stop the car in order to wait a while in the hope of seeing a bear (or a wolf, for that matter). And of course as soon as you stop the car, everyone else behind you assumes you've done so because you've spotted animals nearby, so in next to no time you have several cars all parked up behind you, with their occupants wondering why you've stopped and what it is you're looking at.
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Ahhh kk, one reason I like zoos better is because it's easier to stop and wait and take your time :p
 
Right having done Whipsnade today I have no seen Spectacled Bear at Chester,and of course now European Brown Bear and Sri Lankan Sloth Bear at Whipsnade,at the moment I'm planning getting the next 2 species to try and reach 5 before the end of may!
 
Updated list so far.....

Giant Panda - 09/01/2012 at Edinburgh
Sun Bear - 09/01/2012 at Edinburgh
Spectacled Bear - 27/01/2012 at South Lakes
 
Well wasn't going to do this as I won't get polar bear, but will be interesting to give it a go anywhere and see if I can get the rest, so my hand is:

Spectacled - Chester
European brown bear - Whipsnade
Sri Lankan sloth bear - Whipsnade
 
I can add Ursus thibetanus to my list now. Actually seeing one involved hanging an arm over the edge of the enclosure and dangling a camera from the end. Whose idea was this? ;)
 
Updated list so far.....

Giant Panda - 09/01/2012 at Edinburgh
Sun Bear - 09/01/2012 at Edinburgh
Spectacled Bear - 27/01/2012 at South Lakes
European Brown Bear - 18/02/2012 at Welsh Mountain Zoo
 
Right i'm in

European Brown Bear - 02/03/12 at Welsh Mountain Zoo.
Spectacled Bear - 03/03/12 at Chester.
Asiatic Black Bear - 04/03/12 at Dudley.
 
Great challenge. My son and I actually managed to do this last year but only after realising that we had seen 7 out of the 8 species did we book a flight to Berlin to see a Panda! Our membership of Colchester zoo helped as it means you get into so many other zoos for free.

The best viewing we had was of the Brown Bears at the Welsh Mountain zoo. The most frustrating was of the Polar Bear at the Highland Wildlife Park as he was always at the other side of his thankfully large enclosure (as we had driven up from Edinburgh this was a very tiring day).

Not sure that we will get up to the Scottish zoos again any time soon, so good luck to the first member to see them all on British soil within the same calendar year. :)
 
SMR said:
Apologies for the OT comment, but is there anywhere on-line that lists what other zoos are included in the Colchester membership?
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If it's the same as Bristols It's Bristol, Colchester, Woburn, Marwell, Chester, Edinburgh, and Belfast.

I love my Bristol Membership.
 
Thanks for finding the link. The Colchester membership has been excellent, we went zoo mad last year and visited all of them in the membership scheme including Rotterdam.
 
I'm in for now, although how far i'll get before someone does it I don't know!

Sri Lankan Sloth Bear & European Brown Bear - Whipsnade 29/2/12

Sun Bear - Colchester 11/3/12

Woburn planned for next month & was going to make a first visit to Dudley some time this year, Chester likely & maybe Edinburgh, but the Polar Bear is very doubtful!
 
pipaluk said:
I'm in for now, although how far i'll get before someone does it I don't know!

Sri Lankan Sloth Bear & European Brown Bear - Whipsnade 29/2/12

Sun Bear - Colchester 11/3/12

Woburn planned for next month & was going to make a first visit to Dudley some time this year, Chester likely & maybe Edinburgh, but the Polar Bear is very doubtful!
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Those with longer memories might think you could self-certify on the last named species! ;)
 
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